Field of the Invention
The field relates generally to media input feed systems for an imaging device having a removable media tray.
Description of the Related Art
Imaging devices utilize one or more removable media trays for holding stacks of media sheets to be processed by the imaging device. The removable media tray may handle a variety of media sizes, such as standard letter size, legal size, and A4. A media restraint mechanism, typically having a rear media restraint and one or more side media restraints, may be employed by the removable media tray to keep the media sheets square to avoid misalignment between the media sheet edges and an image when the media sheet is processed for imaging. The rear media restraint and the one or more side media restraints are typically independent from each other and are typically positioned individually depending on the desired media size, and, thus, require an increase in user interaction and probability of improperly positioning the media restraints.
Particularly, in a High Capacity Input Tray (HCIT), which is capable of storing high volume of media, e.g., 2000 sheets or more, problems usually occur during a wrong positioning of either the one or more side media restraints or the rear media restraint. For example, setting the side media restraint on a wider size may cause pick skew, while setting the side media restraint on a narrower size may cause media feed jams. Further, some HCITs are not able to support smaller media sizes, such as A5, and require a separate part connected to the rear media restraint assembly to accommodate this shorter media type. Setting this separate part in place requires an additional step to the customer to support such media sizes, as well an increase in cost and complexity.
It would be advantageous to be able to activate the rear and side media restraints with a single actuation, reducing user interaction and complexity. It would be further advantageous to eliminate the use of a separate part to support smaller media sizes, reducing additional costs and operations needed.